


Dream Weave Intro - The Shadow Man

by Specter_of_Death



Series: Dream Weaves [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Horror, Nightmares, Psychological Horror, Shadow People Myth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-18
Updated: 2014-12-18
Packaged: 2018-03-02 01:01:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2794025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Specter_of_Death/pseuds/Specter_of_Death
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This creative writing, Titled "The Shadow Man", is a creative work that I created depicting a man who is plagued by the Shadow Man's presence, and how it could effect the world around him and the people in it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dream Weave Intro - The Shadow Man

**Author's Note:**

> About Dream Weaves:  
> I have been having really vivid dreams lately. Some are nightmares, and some aren't, but all of which have varied plots and settings. All of these vivid dreams have one thing in common, and that is their uncanny ability to give me something to write about. All of these ideas, I will be calling Dream Weaves, you can figure out why :)
> 
> This first one, is based on a rather eerie, re-occuring nightmare. In this nightmare, I was being chased, by a man who was made of shadow. He would only show up in the corners of my eyes, but when it was pitch dark, I could hear him breathing and sometimes speaking, nothing in English though. It was really eerie, because I couldn't ever stare directly at him, as he only showed up in my peripheral vision.
> 
> With some research, I found a website that spoke of an Urban Legend. The legend was called the Shadow People, and they posessed a lot of the same qualities that my Shadow Man did. However, these Shadow People aren't a singular person, which only makes my dream all the more creepy. Here is the link to the site I found explaining the Shadow People: http://www.playwithdeath.com/urban-legends-shadow-people/
> 
> This creative writing, Titled "The Shadow Man", is a creative work that I created depicting a man who is plagued by the Shadow Man's presence, and how it could effect the world around him and the people in it.
> 
> Note: Links to Nicolas' Artwork depicting the Shadow Man will be included here soon!!

Nicolas awoke in a jolt of energy. His lungs screamed for air, as he violently gasped for it. The sweat on his brow from the violent dream, slowly beaded down the length of his long, pale face. He leaned up, turning his body so his feet could touch the cold stone floor. His elbows met his knees, giving his hands enough support to hold his weary head. His heart continued to pump violently, as if he was still running for his life.

As he attempted to catch his breath, Nicolas tried to turn his attention away from his dream. The same one that had visited him every night for as long as he could remember, haunted him every time his eyes closed. It was his routine.

-

The strawberry blonde woman approached the admissions window, handing the man behind the glass her clipboard, that was now riddled with her personal information and qualifications.

“Miss Drough?” The man spoke in a low monotone voice, eyeing the woman closely.

“Please, it’s Taryn. Am I good to go?” She said, in a caring voice, gesturing to the heavy metal door ahead of her.

“Yes ma’am. You’re all good to go.” He spoke in a half smile, leaning towards the button that released the door with a loud siren.

Taryn pushed her way through the heavy metal door. She was immediately greeted by a large man, who carried another clipboard, which he presented to her.

“Doctor Taryn I presume?” He asked in a grin, “James Traffs, head of Security. I’ll be escorting you on your rounds here today, give you the rundown of all your patients.”

Taryn took the clipboard from the man in a nod, examining the names on the list. Only 6 of them, but the conditions listed ranged from schizophrenia to extreme and violent paranoia. The first on the list, was a man named Nicolas Praft.

“Praft. He suffers from repetitive dreams of a man who hunts him. Doctor Treyna diagnosed him with mild paranoia, obsessive compulsive disorder, with slight… violent streaks. He’s at room 006 just ahead.”

Taryn nodded at the man, as he led her through the bland halls. As she reached window that showed Nicolas’ room, she was greeted by the sight of very repetitive and crude drawings of a man printed all over his walls. His figure was normal, aside from his arms which were drawn down to his feet. At a second glance, she saw a slight emphasis on the drawings pointing out the man’s lack of eyes. Along with all the scribbled drawings were crude words depicting fear or caution, likely at the expense of the man that Nicolas had drawn out so much.

“What has been revealed in previous sessions?” Taryn asked her guide, who never took his eyes off of the tall, skinny patient. Who was standing at the center of the room, directly underneath the single, dimly lit bulb above him. His eyes never left Taryn’s face, it seemed, with a small smirk as well.

“He never did this with Doctor Treyna. And to answer your question, absolutely nothing.” He said, turning to Taryn, who stared at the eerily positioned Nicolas. “Every time the doctor tried to talk to him, he would through a fit. Screaming about how she shouldn’t stare, or something of the sort.”

Taryn nodded along as the man spoke, taking his words in, all without changing her attention from her new patient. She looked up at James, who met her gaze. “Can he see us through the glass?” She asked, looking back down at the notes James had given her.

“No. It’s one way glass. Heavily tinted on his side. There is no way, which only makes this whole thing a bit more od-“ his voice trailed off, as he slammed his head against the glass, “Step away from the glass Nick. Now.”

As Taryn looked back up, she was met by Nicolas’ face directly in front of hers, with only the glass between them. She let out a harsh breath in surprise, immediately noticing the growing smile on his face.

“I want to meet my new physician, Mr. Traffs. I’d like to tell her about my dreams.” He spoke calmly, stepping back from the glass, and sitting gently on his cot, all without a break in his stare.

“Sorry ‘bout that. He’s just a creepy fella. S’up to you what ya do, if you want to have a quick session with him, it’s all you.” James spoke to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Taryn took a moment. She stared at Nicolas, who’s expression and gaze had not changed, not even a blink. She looked down at her notes, completely blank in the “Session’s Yield” field under his name. The previous doctor had not gotten anywhere with him, and now he was offering to talk.

“This seems a bit convenient. You sure this isn’t a game or something?” She asked the man, partially worried, and partially intrigued. She was greeted by a full-hearted shrug from the security guard, who was clearly more perplexed about the situation than she.

“He’s not the type to play games, miss. At least not in my experience. And he definitely isn’t the type to talk to somebody so willingly. So, it’s your call.” He spoke again, changing his attention to the man behind the glass. Taryn followed suit, still trying to make up her mind about the situation.

Before she could think, she started to dig out her notebook, pen, and glasses. James met her decision with the combined expression of worry and uneasiness. He begrudgingly unlocked the heavy metal door, and swung it open for Taryn to enter.

“I’ll be out here if anything happens, and if you get nervous, just stand up and I will let you out,” the guard spoke to her carefully. Taryn hardly listened his words, as she was more focused on Nicolas’s busy walls. Due to her being so destracted, she took a few steps into the room before she even looked at Nicolas. Who’s initial eerie expression was long gone, and was now replaced with a firm stare.

“Nick, this is Doctor Taryn, your new physician. She will be taking the place of Doctor Treyna.” Taryn sat in the metal chair that was placed deliberately across from the patient, and turned to James, who stood in the doorway.

Taryn nodded at James, and action which he returned, followed closely by his exit. Taryn waited for the sound of the door being locked before she looked up to Nick. “Hello Nicolas. I’m Taryn.” She spoke calmly in greeting. She studied Nicolas’ face carefully as she said it, which slightly twitched seemingly taking in the greeting, but not shifting from the cold, firm stare that he was giving her.

She waited a couple moments in silence, awaiting some sort of response, but was greeted with nothing. His face unchanged, and body frozen still, sitting upright with his hands in his lap. Taryn cleared her

throat quietly, then glanced around the room once again. “Nicolas, you told Mr. Traffs that you wanted to talk to me? Tell me about the dreams that you’ve been having?” She questioned, scanning his body. He was left unchanged, minus the slight grin that started to creep across his face when she asked him about the dreams. “Do you want to tell me what they are about Nicolas?” She spoke again, undeterred by his ever-growing expression.

Nicolas’s grin turned into a full smile as the question reached his ears. And slowly, his arm lifted from his lap into a loose point. Taryn followed his arm, down to his finger which was directing her attention to the corner of the room. “They’re always about the same thing, doctor.” He spoke, body now frozen into the point. “They’re always about Him.”

Taryn expected the dark corner to match the walls room, however what she saw was nothing of the sort. The corner that Nicolas had directed her attention to, was on the same wall of the viewing window and the door. Making it impossible to see unless you were inside of the cell. It was scrubbed, from floor to ceiling, so much so that even the visible plaster underneath the scattered drawings seemed to be darker. The only exception to this cleanliness, was the large depiction of the man. The same man that was sketched all over the rest of the walls. However, this drawing stood roughly 6 feet tall, and was shrouded in the shadow that the light at the center of the room seemed to cast. This shadow seemed to make the violent sketch look life-like, as if it were real.

Taryn slowly turned her attention back to Nicolas, who was now smiling gleefully at her, arms back in his lap and back straight. His gaze, however, did not match his expression. It was like he could see right into her head, and it made Taryn uneasy.

“What else Nicolas?” She asked, this time with a bit more hesitation under her breath. Her body shook, startled by Nicolas’ body leaning towards her own, now leaning on his knees.

“You’re in them doctor,” he spoke calmly once again.

A wave of fear washed over her body as he spoke, and she looked back to the corner again. However, her fear was not as severe as her curiosity about this patient, so she urged herself forward.

“And what happens to us Nicolas? And who is He?” She asked, looking at the pane of glass for a moment, nodding once again, hoping to reassure herself, and James.

Nicolas’ eerie expression and frozen posture quickly melted away. He hunched his back, and turned to the dark corner, gritting his teeth while he did so. “He is always there. He follows us. Never leaves. He never leaves us.” He spoke, this time in a voice that Taryn had not expected. His body started to violently shake, as tears rolled down his cheeks.

“His always follows. ALWAYS! A-and… H-he-he has no eyes you know.” He shivered, now raising his voice, “They’re holes. Just HOLES! He has no eyes! They’re just black. Just dark. Like the rest of him!”

Taryn leaned in towards him, reaching out her arm to try and calm him down. “Nicolas, what happens in the dream? What happens to us?” She asked him once again, this time hoping to get a better answer out of him.

“NO! He wants me. H-he wants ME!” He screamed, smacking her hand away, and falling into his bed. “I-Doctor, I only looked at him. I-I only looked at him! Now he wants me! He wants to get me! A-nd now he’s always there!” He started to mumble and yell, sitting with his legs wrapped up in his arms.

Taryn scooted back in her chair, taken back by his outburst, but still glued to her seat out of her overwhelming curiosity about the man he was describing.

“B-but you’re there. B-but. You’re there too! But he wants ME! HE WANTS ME! Why? Why does he want you?!” He continued yelling. Then he rose from his bed, standing in front of Taryn pointing at her firmly, “DON’T LOOK!! DON’T LOOK!! DON’T LOOK AT HIM!”

Taryn stood up, backing away from his screaming. He hadn’t stopped yelling the same thing over and over again, almost like a warning, “DON’T LOOK AT HIM!” Before she could contemplate what Nicolas could’ve meant by this, the door swung open, letting in two guards who started to restrain the panicked man.

“That’s enough for today. He’s had his fill,” James spoke firmly guiding her out of the room. As she walked, she watched Nicolas squirm and scream underneath the force of the 2 guards, but was urged on by the man behind her.

“Yes. I suppose that is significant progress for one day,” She spoke, trying to shake away her fear and inquisitive thoughts on the outburst. James nodded with a smile, handing back her jacket and clipboard.

“Let’s move on shall we?” James spoke, in a sigh, “your next patient is just ahead.”

-

As Taryn marched up the steps of her apartment building, she started to reflect on the day that she had just had. She had never been so exhausted or surprised by anything like that before. Even with the other 5 sessions she had that day, Nicolas’ never left her thoughts. She had never seen a reaction like that before, and had never been witness to such traumatizing fear. Taryn couldn’t help but obsess over the severity of his case throughout the day, and was even surprised that she was still thinking about it now.

She reached the door to her apartment at the far end of her floor, and shook the keys until she was able to push through it’s threshold. She made set her jacket, and other miscellaneous items on her kitchen counter, and flipped on the lights. It took her a few moments to look up from her feet, trying to stretch her neck. When she did, she was shocked by the same violent and crude sketches that littered the walls of Nicolas’ cell.

Her heart raced. She flipped on more lights, and could find no place where the drawings were absent. That was until she turned to her front door, which was completely clean, aside from the six foot drawing that had been in the corner of Nicolas’ cell. She could feel her body shake, and sweat drip down her face. She was frozen with fear. She shut her eyes instinctively, remembering Nicolas’ repetitive screaming.

The silence was calming, an escape to the extreme fear that she had just been feeling. This didn’t last very long however, as the silence was interrupted by the lock of her door releasing. She cringed as she heard the door slowly swing open, and shut. The sound of heavy breathing now muted out everything else, including the pounding of her fearful heart.

She waited a moment, waited for something to happen, but was greeted with nothing. She thought for a moment, torn on whether or not to see who her intruder was. Though her instincts screamed not to, something compelled her to slowly open her eyes. She was greeted by total darkness, and the heavy breathing she could here directly in front of her stopped.

“He told you not to look.”

\- End


End file.
